6: Dante

The hunt was on.

Under the light of the crescent moon and the shadows of the trees, he made his way through the darkness, trailing after the delicious scent of the young woman that had fled him. What he saw was no illusion. Her eyes, let alone her blood, gave away her deepest desire to him and his body felt near to collapsing. He didn't fully understand what this meant, just the need to be near her was overpowering all other sense and reasoning.

When was the last time I had a hunt like this?

Though the question floated about in his head, no answer could come to him. He had lived a couple millennia already and no chase had made him feel so alive. He can still taste her on his tongue, his pupils dilating as his eyes struggled to maintain control. Although she tasted better than any creature before her, memories and thoughts swiveled about his consciousness that were not his own. One of the very few downsides to his being, but now he can track her with ease. Even now as he dashed from shadow to shadow, her heartbeat in his ears, he was closing in on her.

An opening to the highway opened up and his target stood alone in the night, frantically looking around. Headlights shined on her, outlining her frame and stalling him from proceeding further. Then came a voice he barely recognized as a young man approached the frightened woman with familiarity. Dante remained distant from the two, but watched as Willow's entire body relaxed in front of this man. He felt his own blood boil.

Willow joined the individual in his vehicle and took off back into town. Dante stood in the darkness, feeling the rush of the hunt slowly leave his veins as he turned back toward the cabin. He looked down at his hand, the one that for just a moment held her own. He clenched his hands into fists and let out an aggravated sigh. Perhaps it was just the loss of the prey that was bothering him, it couldn't be anything deeper than that. Right?

When he returned back to the cabin, everything was still aside from the small cackle of the fireplace. Just as he was about to take a seat on the couch, a reflection of the fire caught his attention. Glancing over, he noticed Willow's phone laying near the fireplace. He hesitated before grabbing it, running his fingers over the screen before tapping the screen.

Locked.

He went to toss the phone onto the coffee table when he stopped himself. He stared at the phone. For a high schooler, she's bound to need it for her friends. Dante shut his eyes, focusing on the potency of her blood in search of her closest friends. One face only came up. The young man from the highway. Any other face she had seen had looks of disgust and disinterest. One other face stood out clearly amongst the crowd. A fairly beautiful, yet selfish brunette he had met earlier that day. She was consistent in her memories, though none of it appeared to be good. The longer he sift through her past memories, the heavier his heart felt.

Dante rubbed his temples as he began to pace the room. He stood at a fork in the road. One stretch would take him back to the road of travel, leave the cabin and the girl behind, never to be seen again. Down the other path was just her. Willow. Fragile and innocent like a baby. His feet wanted to move, but they felt cemented into the ground. He couldn't either path.

He tapped her phone against his chin thoughtfully, his eyes darting to the clock on the wall. It was nearing midnight now. He slipped her phone into his pocket and grabbed the keys.

Nothing wrong with delivering the damn thing, right?

The town was buzzing, not surprising for the weekend. Halloween decorations displayed in almost every shop and bar. Drunks stumbling off curbs and sidewalks.

Copy and paste.

He drove away from the lights and music and turned into the rundown suburbs. He parked in front of her home, staring at the front door. A faint light came from the lower window, constantly changing and another light from a window near the top. Even behind the closed doors of the car, he could scent her even now in the room upstairs. The light went out and Dante climbed out of his car. His steps ever so silent as he walked up to the door and tried the handle. Locked. He grumbled to himself, glancing around for a possible hidden key like some folks have, but found nothing. He moved off to the side of the house where Willow had taken him and Janice to the backyard. Backdoor perhaps?

He unhooked the back gate, gritting his teeth as the rusty hinges squeaked as he opened it. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in as he closed the gate behind himself. He made his way up to the backdoor, his hand on the doorknob and he turned it.

Click.

He opened the backdoor carefully and proceeded inside. The stench that slapped him was overwhelming, even with his senses. He covered his nose as his eyes glowed softly, scanning the room he entered. A kitchen. A filthy one at that. For a woman that seemed pretty clean, she lived in a poor environment. Was her habits that bad that she couldn't lift a finger to clean a single thing? He dipped into her memories again, this time searching for a sense of responsibility. He noticed her cleaning up here and there, then an abrupt voice startling her each time. An older woman. Her Aunt Ruth, she had called her. He grimaced as he looked at the pile of dishes in the sink before slipping out of the room before the stench stuck to his clothes.

He peeked into the living room where he found the Aunt sleeping in a recliner. Her snoring could wake a hibernating bear. He turned his attention to the stairs where he saw in her memories fleeing to her room for sanctuary. He followed her steps, silently cursing at the creaks in the boards. How the place was still standing was beyond him.

Dante moved along until he came up to a door in a narrow hallway. He listened carefully, hearing soft breathing from within before entering the room. It was small with a few minor broken pieces of furniture, but better appealing compared to the rest of the house. His eyes took notice of pictures above her bed as he placed her phone on the nightstand beside her. Most appeared like drawn out incidents. Car crashes, pandemics, war. His eyes flickered to a drawing that was closer to her. One with a pair of eyes that were like liquid gold and red swirling around the pupils. They appeared so intense, yet soft all the same.

Willow stirred, but did not wake, turning over in her sleep. His eyes casted down to her, finally taking notice of multiple scars across her body. All thin and light. His eyes went to her arms where the scars appeared darker, especially around her wrists. He reached out and traced a single scar. A memory warped in front of him suddenly. Willow cried with a knife in her hand, dragging it across her skin. Dante felt his chest constrict as he gazed down at the woman before him. Self harm was a dangerous path to walk on, and it appeared she had been walking it for some time now.

He sat beside her, careful not to wake her. He traced her jaw with his finger lightly, watching her shiver and pull the covers closer to her. She intrigued him in a way he couldn't understand. He'd met men and women of various races, both human and Supernatural, yet for some reason, his heart and body ached when it came to her. He gazed down at Willow for awhile longer, listening to her steady heart beat and even breathing. He wanted answers, but who could possibly give it to him?

She stirred again, this time her brows furrowed together, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead and her pinks flushed. He watched as her breathing quickened and her heart started to accelerate. Alarmed, Dante went to shake her awake, but stopped himself. How could he explain why he was in her room? Would she believe him if he told her he merely came to drop off her phone? After their encounter earlier, it didn't seem as likely.

"Dante..." his name escaped her lips in a soft moan, surprising him. Her fingers ran over the covers she had clutched close to her, flexing and gripping. His hand reached out, caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her eyelashes fluttered in response and her bottom lip quiver. He pulled his hand back and carefully got to his feet. He wanted to know so badly what she was dreaming about to have such a response with his name, but the longer he lingered the riskier it was to getting caught.

I'll retreat for now, but you have my full attention, Witch.

He escaped out the way he came, not once had her Aunt awakened. For a moment he thought he had noticed a feline tucked behind a chair, but paid no mind to it. It didn't react to him, so he ignored it. As he got into his car, he sat there in silence, debating his next move. He could continue watching her from a distance, but would she want to be with him alone again? He placed his hand over his chest where his heart continued to rampage from being so close to her. He raked through his own memories in hopes that he has had this reaction to a previous prey, but nothing came to mind. Dante ran his hands over his face, feeling exhausted and even more lost.

Should I talk to the old bag? Maybe she may have a clue.

He amused the idea of contacting the Witch, only to perhaps be met with sarcastic remarks or some wise old saying he didn't need. He shook his head, disregarding that option. His eyes landed on his watch.

If I leave now, I could get to Washington by tomorrow night.

----------

Dante stared at the large door of the mansion. He had stayed overnight at the hotel in the city, not wanting to disturb the person he came to see so late at night. Leaving an abrupt voicemail probably didn't help either with his short notice arrival, but as the King he hoped he can pardon him this one time.

He knocked and waited, glancing around the driveway. Small Halloween decorations were scattered alongside the curved driveway where a black SUV sat parked. He smiled to himself before the door opened and the person he least expected answered the door.

"Oh." Lily stood in front of him wearing a black and blue plaid dress that stopped at her knees. Her stomach swollen against the fabric and her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Dante found himself staring at her for a moment, sensing the innate aura she gave off. Perhaps it was just the Luna title that she was giving off, yet why did it feel so... nostalgic?

"My apologies, I needed to see King Ryder." He inclined his head to her. Lily tilted her head at him, smiling softly as she stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter. He stepped past the threshold, withholding a whistle as he glanced at the tall ceiling with the chandelier in the foyer.

"It's alright. He's getting Myra ready for daycare so he'll be down in a moment." She hobbled over to the living room where a few scattered toys laid about. She squatted as she cleaned up the minor mess before taking a seat on one of the couches. He stood awkwardly off to the side, looking around the room while attempting to avoid her.

"You can sit, Dante." She told him, drawing his attention to the spot across from her. He nodded, following what she said and sat down.

"I know this is rather sudden, I just needed some help with understanding something." He informed her. Lily nodded, rubbing her stomach in slow circles.

"Is it something I could help with?" She asked him. He finally looked at her, her soft green eyes sparkling in the morning sunlight. Before he could stop himself, he opened his mouth.

"I'm confused about what I'm feeling right now." He started, his hands clasped in front of him, "I met this young woman a couple of weeks ago and at first she was insignificant to me." Lily sat there listening intently to everybody that left his lips.

"I wish I could say it by was accident, but I hadn't hunted in quite sometime and was famished." He noticed a dark shadow cross her gaze for a moment until it was quickly vanished.

Dammit, how could I forget what she went through?

"She's a Witch, a half-Witch anyway. She was working on..." he paused, hesitating to continue spilling his guts to her. When Lily nodded encouragingly to him, he opened up again, "She bled a little bit and with my nature I couldn't resist." He lowered his gaze to the carpet.

"Did it scare her?" She asked him. He thought back to Willow's reaction. Out of everything she could have done, she asked to help him instead.

"I don't think it scared her at first, but now I've seen her memories." He tightened his hands slightly.

"I see." Lily said, reaching up and pulled her golden locks free of her hair tie. Her hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her fingers began to play with her wedding ring as she mauled his words over.

"I've lived for a very long time, and yet I can't remember ever feeling this way about someone after tasting them." He said earnestly. Lily met his gaze and smiled softly again.

"I'm not sure how love works with Vampires. I thought I did at one point, but I was blinded at the time." She inclined her head at the sound of a little girl giggling upstairs. The smile that settled on the woman's lips seemed otherworldly to him.

"I know when I came to love Jayce, all I could think about was him. Was he having a good day at work? What meal should I make for him tonight?" Her eyes fell shut, her long lashes casting small shadows on her cheeks.

"It became apparent that what I felt for him was nothing I had felt before. He cared for me while I was healing. He finds just the smallest things to make me smile and that's all I truly need. I guess in a way, we were fated for one another." She opened her eyes and in that moment he saw something surreal in her expression. Angelic, even godly.

"I just met this girl, I don't love her." He told her.

"True, love takes time. For some it only takes a few months for it to blossom, and others it may take years." Lily patted her belly gently, "You may not love her now, maybe not ever, but if you share something. Something small as a pebble, that's all it could take." Dante pondered on her words when footsteps sounded down the stairs and a small child ran into the room, her blonde hair in pigtails while she wore a pink dress with white tights. The little girl stopped, facing Dante head on and wrinkled her nose.

"You're that stinky man." She pointed at him. Heavy footsteps followed behind her.

"Myra." Jayce said sternly as the little girl climbed onto the couch beside Lily. The Werewolf King adjusted his watch as he casted his crimson gaze over to Dante, "You couldn't make this visit on the phone?"

"Don't be mean, love. He's in crisis right now." Lily told him. Dante watched as Jayce's body relaxed as she spoke to him, taking a seat on the other side of her.

"It's not a crisis, I'm genuinely confused." He said to him. Jayce grunted softly in response.

"What is it you needed to discuss with me?" Jayce got right to the point.

"Uh well, your Luna actually..."

"Please, Lily is just fine." She corrected him before turning her attention to Myra, "How about we let the boys talk and make you some breakfast." She went to stand, but fell back onto the couch. Jayce immediately got to his feet and assisted her up.

"Please call for me to get you anything. I don't want to find you climbing on the counter again." He told her while she picked up Myra. She looked at him innocently as she left the room to them.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She said back to him before disappearing around the corner. Jayce shook his head as he sat back down finally focusing back on him.

"What is it?" He asked him.

"As I told Lily, I met someone, but I'm not entirely sure on how to process it." He stated again. Jayce cocked a brow at him.

"You came here for a therapy session?"

"I came here because you are the only person I know that has gone through the whole, whatever you Wolves refer to it." He waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"Are you referring to our Mate bond? Is that what you are experiencing?" Jayce crossed his arms across his chest as he sat back in his seat.

"Yes, that." Dante said.

"I don't know if what we experience is the same as Vampires. Do you have a Mate bond?" Jayce asked him curiously. Dante shrugged. He never cared to know about what his followers were going through when it came to silly things such as love. When he didn't respond, Jayce continued.

"Our Mate bond relates to scent and touch. Mates have specific smells that only their Mate can scent and no other."

"What does Lily smell like?" Dante asked him.

"Lilies. I know, ironic." The corner of Jayce's lips twitched slightly.

"She's human, so can't scent you, right?" Dante asked him. Jayce inclined his head thoughtfully.

"She said I smell like rain." He spoke softly.

How could she smell if she isn't a Wolf?

Dante shrugged the question off. Two different species.

"And touch?" He asked to get back on track.

"It's like a shocking experience. Do feel that way toward whoever this woman is?" Jayce asked him. When Dante shook his head, Jayce shrugged, "Then what you are going through may be something else. Maybe you should ask one of your own." Jayce rose to his feet. Dante rose up with him.

"All I know is that when I tasted her blood, it felt like everything around me vanished. I've drank from others before, but not once have I felt such a way in all my years." He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a bit more aggravated than he wanted to be.

"Then it may not be related to scent and touch, but by taste instead." Jayce told him.

"Daddy! Mama is on the counter again!"

"Myra!"

Jayce let out a sigh, but it was out of annoyance or exhaustion. Not with the smile on his face.

"Wait, there is one more detail. I've discovered that this woman self harms as well." Dante informed him. Jayce turned his attention on him immediately.

"Give her space. Don't prod into her for answers, she'll just recoil. Let her come to you. Make her feel safe. Trust me." Jayce told him before escorting him to the front door.

"What if I can't help her?" Dante found himself asking him. Jayce's crimson eyes darkened at the question, like he had asked himself that very question to.

"The only way you'll know is if she let's you in."